Zika virus is a member of the virus family Flavlviridae. It is spread by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus. Its name comes from the Zika Forest of Uganda, where the virus was first isolated in 1947. Zika virus is related to the dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. Since the 1950s, it has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia. After being bitten, infected humans become the main carriers of Zika virus. The virus can spread farther and quicker due to human movement. For example, from 2007 to 2016, the virus spread eastward, across the Pacific Ocean to the Americas, leading to the 2015-2016 Zika virus epidemic.
The infection, known as Zika fever or Zika virus disease, often causes no symptoms or only mild symptoms, e.g., fever, headache, red eyes, skin rash, fatigue, muscle/joint pain, which is similar to a very mild form of dengue fever. While there is no specific treatment, acetaminophen and rest may help with the symptoms. As of 2016, the illness cannot be prevented by any medications or vaccines. Zika virus can spread through blood transfusion, sexual intercourse, and from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby, often resulting in microcephaly, severe brain damage and malformations, and other birth defects.
In January 2016, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued travel guidance on affected countries, including the use of enhanced precautions, and guidelines for pregnant women including considering postponing travel. Other governments or health agencies also issued similar travel warnings, while Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Jamaica advised women to postpone getting pregnant until more is known about the risks.
Zika virus is a virus that has quickly made itself one of the world's biggest medical concerns. As the Zika virus epidemic progresses, the world remains unprepared to contain this threat as well as other similar mosquito-borne viral diseases, which can spontaneously become an epidemic in days. In a survey published by the Wall Street Journal, it was concluded that even the U.S. is not prepared to handle the demand for Zika virus testing in case of an actual epidemic. The current Zika virus testing method takes approximately 4-14 days; a time span that is completely unrealistic in the case of an epidemic occurring. Therefore, what is needed is a fast and convenient way to diagnose and/or estimate the probability that a person has been infected with Zika virus.